Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-03-25

was not much injured but is prostrsted
oy tue excitement and exhaustion. Alfred
u. Gay, OF Philadelphia, and Samuel E.
smith, OF Brooklyn. had most remark
able experience. They were in adjoining
rooms on the fifth floor and tell sbout the
same story. Mr.. Clay was aroused by the
| ringing OF the electric fire bell and got
ny. he pressed his finger sn the button
wondering what was wrong but the he'll
! continued ringing. He went TO bed again
Tor minute or so, and got up a second
time to try and stop the noise. Then IL
dawned upon him thas
! SOMETHING WAS WRONG
| by this time the place Was beginning IN
blaze furtonSly. He found the stairway emf
| OF and took to the window. He and
Smith barely reached Buunell,s museum
roof when they looked back and
saw i've girls i'll a fifth story window.
lhey had tied bed clothing into rome
winch hung out, Sut none of them seem.
ed to have the courage to start. At last
one OF the five took hold and swung down
TO the window ledge, from which she was
assisted by Clay and Smith. Three 9th
ers came down In the same manner and
the hfth girl started down She had
almost completed the distance when the
rope parted and down she we&t four sto-
rles to the ground, but strange to say she
was not Killed Her legs were terribly cut
and bruised, her back badly injured. and
her face and arms were in a frightfuI CON
ditlon from burns. She lay moaning
upon lounge at the Spencer house. beg,
ing to be sent home. Her name is said
to be Mary Conuell.
A. II. Bowen, of Tonawanda, saws: az
was on the third floor with j. I. McCurdv
OF louisville, We escaped in our night
shirts. went back for my watch and
came near being burned to death. Thank
God L am not hurt, One Cf the saddest
secrets Of the csntiagation vas the fall of
man from window to the roof of the
frame structure adjoining on Main street.
heretofore mentioned. He was William
Perce'l, of this city, local agent of Brad.
streets. he must have, been severely burned
internally. In falling he struck his head
and died almost instantly. Mr.. and
Mrss. Nm. b. Mann, part proprietors of
the hotel, had narrow escape. Mrs.
Mann was frightfully burned about the
head, arms and legs. The last persons
taken alive from the buildings were two
domestlcs taken from the southern end of
the fifth floor by firemen. VIM. j. Mckee,
of New York. and VIM, P. Lamb, of New
York, escaped from the fourth floor by
the fire escape. Mrs. Spencer, of Syra-
cuse, escaped in her nightshirt with her
neck and hands badly burned. An un-
known man was killed by jumping from
window. Mark Osborne, clerk of the
hotel, is missing. j. H. Van Buren,, of
Dunklrk, was carried out by fireman.
One man hung outside window four
minutes before he was rescued
THE GROUND FLOOR
of the building was occupied by Ulbrich
d Kingsley, and Paul Bros, stationery
stores, and Boston clothing house; all
total loas. Crsighton's saloon and
Palacio's cigar store were destroyed. R.
ID. Humes, travelling man, jxmped to
the kitchen roof, went through skylight,
rushed through the flames and escaped
with severe bruises. He thinks five persons
on the kitchen roof must have perished.
Mr.. Stafford, proprietor of the hotel, says
the electric bells awakened everybody,
and but for them the loss of life would
have been frightful. He thinks not more
than six persisted. Others estimate the
loss of life at ten or twelve. The register
ledger and cash book were burned. There
were $60,OO0 worth of diamonds, jswelry
and watches in the hotel safe. All yet is
confusion, and it is difficult to obtain a
correct list of the in ured while the names
of the missing, owing to the loss of the
register, may not be known for days,
If ever. There are eighteen at the hos
pital and a number of others at
various places. This afternoon the
ruins were too hot to permit
a search for the bodies. The missing are:
Wilson Purcell; Martin Osborne; Katie
Pierce and Katie Kent servants. An un-
known woman was found dead in the
ruins of the cigar store, and an unknowX
man was killed in jumping.
The burned building was erected in
1856 for hotel purposes and was called
the St. James hotel. The hotel wa. not a
success financially, and after a struggling
existence it passed in 1864 into the hands
of the Young Mems Christian association.
After tn association gave up its rooms
i'll the old building in October last, the
firm of Stafford l. Cocoon posed of
Robert Stafford, FL. p. Whitaker and W.
j. Mann-took lease of the proper'v
for hotel purposes for term of years